The enormous difficulties of attempting to reduce poverty, build capacity, and facilitating sustained development continue to be profoundly under estimated by the international community. Even back in 1992, Jonathan Moore, adviser to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said, “……
Author / scott
This amazing picture was taken by Mr. Aaro Keipi of a beautiful bride and noble hearted groom (Johanna & Simon) on 19 May 2012 in Örebro, Sweden. I know these two newlyweds quite well and am moved by Aaro’s photo. …
I’ve modified this illustration from Dr David Werner’s book, Where There is No Doctor. I think it nicely illustrates some of the complexities in dealing with social issues of all kinds. As humans, we have different world views and backgrounds …
It was a humid summer morning at the Therapeutic Feeding Center (TFC) that served five over-crowded refugee camps in Sierra Leone. The Center was a complex of large tents populated by over a hundred severely malnourished children (ages 1 month …
I recently ret
urned from a trip to Azerbaijan visiting Operation Mercy staff and projects. We have some great people working for Operation Mercy in Azerbaijan. During my visit I had the privilege to teach a 2-day seminar on leadership …
I recently finished G.K. Chesterton’s biography of Saint Francis of Assisi. Chesterton (1874-1936) did an amazing job at trying to setup the historical/cultural context in which Saint Francis lived. I was slightly annoyed with this approach at first but later …
Have you ever had the experience of being brinked? The Oxford dictionary defines the noun “brink” as the extreme edge of something (like a cliff) or a point at which something (typically something unwelcome) is about to happen. Similarly, …
![geog07a[1]](http://scottbreslin.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/geog07a1.jpg)
Centuries before a person could earn a master’s degree in humanitarian studies, social work, or international development, ancient societies enacted laws to protect the poor and needy of their communities. One of the earliest examples of such a law dates …
As a new resident in Sweden I had 12 months to get a Swedish driver’s license before I’m relegated to pedestrian, bus or bicycle status. I must say, learning to drive “Swedish” style for this 52 year old foreign grown …
The taxi cab drivers in Dublin make a good first impression. This week I was on a short business trip to Waterford via Dublin. I used five different taxis during the week and all five drivers were chatty, cheerful, charming, …